Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer
Attendees of the World Junior Champs leaving the Hope Zoo, St. Andrew, yesterday.The Hope Zoo in St. Andrew has dismissed one of its animal keepers following the escape and subsequent death of capuchin monkey 'Sammy' last week.
The keeper, whose name was not released, was responsible for the care of mammals at the zoo and is said to have been responsible for the error which allowed the monkey to escape around 10:00 Wednesday morning.
"Strong disciplinary action has been taken. The keeper was actually dismissed," Charlene Alexander, acting assistant curator at the zoo, explained yesterday.
Internal investigations into how Sammy escaped revealed that it was a clear case of human error, where Sammy's cage was not properly secured after he was fed.
Mrs. Alexander said that security measures are "a way of life" at the zoo, noting the animals are kept inside cages to prevent others from outside, such as stray dogs and mongooses from invading the premises.
"They have to be examined on a daily basis. The locks have to be checked and the fencing material checked because with these animals, you may be surprised how these animals can make their escape and predators come in."
She said the animals' cages are bordered by an outer cage which must remain locked so that if an animal escapes from its cage, it cannot get beyond this outer protection. That was not secured in Sammy's case.
Sammy was found dead at 6:45 a.m. on Friday, two days after his escape, near the Micro Dam, located just east of the Hope Zoo. A post mortem examination carried out by the Veterinary Division of the Ministry of Agriculture revealed that Sammy died from multiple bite-wounds, inflicted by dogs.
"I think it was a case where he had come down off the trees and encountered these dogs. He probably wasn't fast enough. He was outnumbered and probably smaller. We have a lot of strays dogs surrounding the zoo and these always pose a threat to the animals," she said.
She explained that Sammy had lingered around the surroundings of the exhibit for a while before leaving the familiarity of home.
"He ran away soon because he was being chased by the keepers in an attempt to capture him. That is the reason for him leaving the area of the exhibit. The dam sits just east of the zoo. It's just right behind the Tropical Learning Centre (located close to the entrance of the zoo)," she said.
The monkey has been at the zoo since 1985 after spending years as "a pet" at the Immaculate Conception High School in St. Andrew.
His death leaves behind only two monkeys at Hope Zoo, but acting curator, Orlando Robinson, said on Friday that there are plans to acquire more monkeys and other animals under a recently announced multi-phased expansion of the zoo slated for this year.
But Mrs. Alexander said that it is going to be hard to put another animal in Sammy's cage.
"It's going to be hard for a while (to put another animal in his cage). When you think of that cage, you think of Sammy," she said.
"Sam was a special monkey," Mrs. Alexander continued. "His external features clearly disguised his personality. I read the description in the paper, large canines... I don't really understand the link between these canines and his mode of nutrition. This monkey would hold onto your fingers. He tends to prefer one person being around him as opposed to several. It was always great to walk up to his cage and say, 'Hi, Sammy', how you doing and he will come up," she said, adding that Sammy loved grooming. "He will be missed."
